Careers › Military, enlisted
Military, enlisted: pay, training and money by age
Serving in one of thousands of military jobs. Paid training from day one, housing and food allowances, the GI Bill for school later and a pension after 20 years. About $55,000 a year at the middle of a career, about $26 an hour.
Opens Starting Out with this job picked. Change anything: school, rent, car, family, savings, detours.
Getting there
Enlist (paid training; GI Bill for later). No tuition, with pay while you learn. Pay starts near $44,000 and rises with experience.
First month on the job (age 18)
| Pay before taxes | $3,667 |
| Take-home after taxes | $3,198 |
| Rent or housing | $0 |
| Car | −$350 |
| Food, phone, utilities, health and personal | −$500 |
| Saved (10%, plus the tax a 401(k) saves) | −$1,190 |
| Left for everything else | $1,158 |
Plus about $119 a month from an employer match. Rent assumes roommates.
Tight early on: with these defaults the budget runs short by up to $21 a month from age 24. Roommates longer, a cheaper place or a second income closes it.
What changes the picture
| Choice | Result | Could stop at |
|---|---|---|
| Stay 20 years, then a second career as a lineworker | $758,121 at 45; pension about $2,026 a month | 54 |
| Stay single, no kids | $479,684 at 45 | 51 |
| Invest $250 more a month | $717,608 at 45 | 52 |
| Rent from 18 instead of living at home to 22 | $411,995 at 45 | |
| A DUI at 22 | about $144,646 less by 65 | 56 |
| Smoking a pack a day from 22 | about $431,146 less by 65 | 58 |
At the same savings rate, higher pay doesn't always mean stopping sooner: spending tends to rise with pay. Saving more is what moves the date.
Questions
How much does an enlisted service member make?
About $55,000 a year at the middle of a career (U.S. median, Bureau of Labor Statistics), or about $26 an hour. Starting pay is lower, around $44,000.
How do you become an enlisted service member?
Serving in one of thousands of military jobs. Paid training from day one, housing and food allowances, the GI Bill for school later and a pension after 20 years. In the model: Enlist (paid training; GI Bill for later). No tuition, with pay while you learn.
When could an enlisted service member retire?
With the defaults on this page (saving 10% of take-home, a 4% match, married at 28, two kids, a home at 32), about age 55, and from 48 to 66 depending on pay and markets. Saving more moves it sooner.
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How these numbers are made: the FIRE Mission Starting Out model in today's dollars. Pay is the U.S. median from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023-24), rounded; starting pay is about 70% of it, rising to about 125% after 20 years. Defaults: start at 18, live at home to 22 with the rent invested, roommates to 24, $1,450 rent, a paid-off car with $150 insurance, married at 28 to a spouse earning $50,000, two kids from 30, a $400,000 home at 32 once affordable, saving 10% of take-home with a 4% match, 5% returns after inflation, Social Security from 67. The range runs from 25th-percentile pay with 3% returns to 75th-percentile pay with 7%. A sketch, not a forecast, and not financial advice.